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David Sedaris' account of his childhood connects with Alexie's stories as they both display themselves being influence by their home environment, positively and negatively. In Alexie's case, he was more positively influence by his father's love of books to read everything that was available to him. This is what allowed him to break the mold that was set by his peers and become a successful author. However, in Sedaris' case, he was not positively influenced/encouraged. His tics were viewed as a nuisance and a problem to be "fixed" by all of his peers and family. Noting that he said something along the lines of "the more he told me not to do it the more I wanted to", we can see that the unaccepting behavior of his parents drove his tics to become worse. Additionally, when Sedaris finally enters college, his tics only start disappearing after he starts (presumably) abusing drugs like nicotine and alcohol. More noticeably, a reliance on smoking cigarettes. This displays how the negative reactions from his family pushed him to develop worse habits after becoming independent, growing to understand that smoking  is more socially acceptable than doing random actions, although smoking may have more negative health effects. This can also be connected to him home life as we learn that Sedaris' mother smokes. We can interpret this as a possible learned behavior- Sedaris' mother dealt with his behavior through smoking and drinking (offering whiskey right away to Sedaris' teacher), and now Sedaris' deals with himself through smoking and drinking.

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In Alexie's story the power of intrinsic motivation is seen to only work in some cases to be true and only to be proven true in a certain environment. Alexie had a rough childhood which he ended up overcoming but for him to accomplish what he has now from all the stereotypes back from his childhood was seen as something that is not usually done. At a young age he started reading his fathers books and picked up words and as he went and from there he grew as a reader. By doing this he started to have an edge over his peers before soon learning that what he was doing wasn't the norm for a young Indian boy. Doing what he did at a young age proved to be a success and he is helping other young kids break down the barriers that were put in front of them..

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they both are in an environment that doesn't accept what they do, but as they went on with their lives they were able to get over their obstacles.

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Possible quote: It wasn’t  that I enjoyed pressing my nose against the scalding hood of a parked car --  pleasure had nothing to do with it. A person had to do these things because  nothing was worse than the anguish of not doing them. 

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Possible quote: It wasn’t  that I enjoyed pressing my nose against the scalding hood of a parked car --  pleasure had nothing to do with it. A person had to do these things because  nothing was worse than the anguish of not doing them. 

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In both David Sedaris's story about living with his tics  and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and in Sherman Alexie's story of growing up in a foreign country and having to overcome the stereotypes preset by his race, both share some wide similarities. However, both also have some clear contrast that perfectly highlights two sides of the same coin. Both stories discuss how in their youth, the children learned the difficulties of having things they were born with; Sedaris's OCD, and Alexie's race. But whereas Alexie pushed to go past something that was socially acceptable, that he saw as something that he should strive to defeat, Sedaris dealt with an issue that wasn't socially acceptable, that he wanted to defeat. Both were tenacious on triumphing their circumstances. Sedaris couldn't control his compulsive tics, but he was aware of the oddity of his condition and issues. Not much was in the way of offering a hand but himself. While Alexie had supportive elements, he had the same amount of obstacles that gave him every reason to not succeed.

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The stories we read connect to each other because both Alexie and Sedaris were faced with issues that they were determined to overcome, and eventually they were both able to succeed at getting through these challenges.

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It seemed to me that the author's main obsacle from overcoming his tics was his family and the environment he grew up in. In college he was forced to be out of his comfort zone and didn't have the luxury of the things that enabled his tics. Also due to the fact that he was on his own he was forced to get resourceful in order to combat his tics and in turn took up smoking. Sedaris' story and Alexie's story have the same common theme of growing up in an environment where they were always different from their peers and that they were both able to work past adversity that they faced when growing up.

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Nurture has a huge impact on someone's life. If your mom and or dad just lets you be and doesn't really help you or even explain things to you, you might go down the wrong path o just never understand the basics of life. David Sedaris is a perfect example of this. His parents did not try and understand him or help him in the least bit. They would just make fun of him behind his back and make fun of his differences. This led to him smoking and doing other drugs because his parents did not try at all.

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In Alexies story there was a good ending due to all the obstacles which made Alexie stronger but in Sedaris story he started something bad due to the environment around him which is how they connect

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Sedaris' story connects to the ideas of intrinsic motivation in an environment that doesn't support oneself. In both Alexie and Sedaris' stories they were given a bad hand in life but eventually they managed to get through it. In Alexie's story it is through his intrinsic motivation that he breaks free, however in Sedaris' story he only gets over his issues through external things like smoking. Which shows how even if a person is greatly intrinsically motivated, they don't always have the ability to get through their tough times without external things. 'He had it all wrong. I wanted to be home more than anything, it was  getting there that was the problem" Sedaris says this noting how he wanted to break free and get over his actions but he couldn't.

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David Sedaris's story about his tics show to me that the lack of an intrinsic motivation is a major factor in one's life. Sedaris shows that all through his life people tried to get him to stop his tics and failed, the reason that they failed, in my understanding, is due to his not wanting them to and not understanding how disruptful they were. Only when he found something to replace the tics was he able to calm down

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I think that nurture usually has a greater impact on a person's life than nature. We learn our qualities, habits, and attitudes from our environments. And even if our personality or outlook changes, it's because our environment changed, not because of our nature. Our nature determines how we react to our environment, but nurture tells us how to act. I think "nature" is just the product of our earliest experience with "nurture".

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When reading A Plague of Tics there is a theme of judgement and ignorance from others. This is a common theme between both this story and Alexie's. Additionally, both characters do not let this harsh judgement they receive define who they are or how they choose to act. It is their own motivation and individuality which defines them, not the judgement of others.

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If Sherman Alexie and David Sedaris had a conversation what would they talk about? What do they have in common? What might they say about intrinsic motivation?

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If Sherman Alexie and David Sedaris had a conversation what would they talk about? What do they have in common? What might they say about intrinsic motivation?

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What is the most important trait a person can have if they want to be successful?

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What is the most important trait a person can have if they want to be successful?

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What has a greater impact on a person's life: nature or nurture?

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What has a greater impact on a person's life: nature or nurture?

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Alexie's story proves that with intrinsic motivation you can overcome any obstacle even if it's not the correct environment. In the story is says, "I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open." Even though his environment may of led him to failure this did not let that stop him from succeeding.

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Alexie's story proves that enviornment impacts motivation and success. At home his father had tons of book that he loved. From these books Alexie learned how to read and he devoloped a passion for them. At school Alexie was just an average Indian kid who no one thought would succeed. He says, "We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid." This gave him motivation to break the expectations and prove them wrong. Alexie's enviornment at home gave him his career of being a writer and his enviornment at school made him motivated to become successful.

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Alexie's motivation to do better and "save lives" through the power of books and reading reflects strongly in this story. It was his own motivation to read originally that saved his life on the reservation, and pushed him to want to be different. This motivation carried over to his older years where he now goes back to the reservation to read to the children in hopes to save some of their lives as well.

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In Alexie's story it was shown that even in a difficult environment you can deal with and take down difficult obstacles. Even with the barrier in the way Alexie was still able to get past the problems that were in the way and the issues that was giving Alexie trouble.

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his environment is what made him how he was, if he was in a different one he wouldn't have felt the same desire to keep reading and being called a prodigy would have meant he was recognized and that's what he wanted from his environment and he wouldn't feel the need to inspire others like he does.

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Even if there is a bad environment for the person and makes it harder for them to succeed they can still do it and Alexie shows us that in his story. He proves that you can accomplish anything no matter the circumstance by stating "But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity...They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers, for help." He was smart and the kids wanted him to be quiet because he was succeeding and he pushed through these kids always putting him down and he eventually pushed through it and became a successful writer.

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Alexie's story proves that you can use your motivation to overcome any obstacle, however in some circumstances there might be things holding you back from achieving your goals. A quote from Alexie's story that proves this is "If he'd been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity." From this quote we can see that Alexie was doing everything in his power to overcome his goal, however the fact that the was living on a reservation was holding him back from achieving it, or in this case being recognized for it.

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One's environment is integral to overcoming harsh obstacles. Alexies was able to find the motivation to become a writer because of the head start he got from his father's love of books. Without this, he most likely would not have been able to break out of the stereotypical shell of what was expected of him, as he admits that Indian kids are expected to fail: "We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid"

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Alexie's environment was a barrier that could have held him back from achieving what he wanted. Even if there was no physical barrier, there definitely was a mental barrier that makes it hard to to try doing more than what is expected. However, Alexie used the obstacles in his environment to push himself to exceed what those around him expected of him.

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Alexie's story proves that having a difficult environment does not measure what you can do to improve aspects of your life. The text shows what Alexie has done despite having a difficult environment which can inspire many others. He says "We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid" which shows that no matter what environment or what people think of you, you can still succeed

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Alexie's determination and intrinsic motivations

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Alexie's determination and intrinsic motivations

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Alexie's environment caused him to enjoy and read each and every book he could find because of how limited they were for him. He got out of his impoverished system through his strong will to get out and work hard. Alexie says "A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike." showing how his environment had a negative outlook on his abilities but he still broke free through his own ability and determination.

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A person's environment can only hold them back so much.

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A person's environment can only hold them back so much.

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Alexie's story proves this because...

He says,". We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid. Most lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but subverted them on the outside."

In turn, even though the environment of school and the stereotypes behind them hold them back, they still posses the ability to succeed.

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Alexie's story proves that intrinsic motivation only works if you've been raised in/are in the right environment. Alexie was able to overcome his obstacle with intrinsic motivation because of his father's love of reading, and being able to borrow his father's books. He did this before he knew that the Indian kids were supposed to slack off in school, so a combination of his environment and his motivation allowed him to succeed. "I refused to fail," Alexie writes. "I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night...". However, many other kids weren't as lucky. Alexie compares himself to the kids in his class, who chose to fail and be accepted by their fellow Indians and pitied by the non-Indians. By the end of the story, Alexie is trying to "break down the door" for those kids. He gives them books, like his father did for him before, but "the door holds". Their environment has taught them that no amount of motivation or talent will allow them to succeed.

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Alexie's love of books began with his father bringing home what little books he could and Alexie wrote on how he would pick them up without even understanding the words on the page. He read whatever he could get his hands on, now that wasn't much and he was mocked by most but that only served him to pursue it further to the point where he ended up writing plenty of books. Now it is worth pointing out that Alexie is the exception not the rule. There are plenty of people that have the same opportunities but don't take them

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How can you use Alexie's story to argue for/against the power of intrinsic motivation?

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How can you use Alexie's story to argue for/against the power of intrinsic motivation?

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"I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky."

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"I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky."

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Curious about your opinions: How did Alexie's environment influence him? To what degree did that environment determine his success?

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Curious about your opinions: How did Alexie's environment influence him? To what degree did that environment determine his success?

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A person can overcome any obstacle if they have the motivation to put in the hard work.

Alexie's story proves this because...

He says, "..."